The West Papua Oil Palm Atlas ( - 23 MB)
WEST PAPUA OIL PALM ATLAS
The companies behind the plantation explosion
During the last few decades, Indonesia's oil palm industry has been growing rapidly, but focussed almost entirely on the
islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In Papua on the other hand, by 2015, only seven companies had successfully developed
plantations. Now, as space becomes limited on those western islands, investors are increasingly looking to the east for new
land. There are currently 21 companies that have cleared forests and started operating in Papua, the majority of which have
only started their operations in the last five years. Twenty other companies are in an advanced stage of the permit process and
appear to be almost ready to start clearing land. Dozens more are still applying for the permits they need. This rapid growth is
having serious adverse effects on Papua's indigenous population. For almost every single existing plantation, there have been
reports that local indigenous people have lost out when the forests they depend on for their livelihood become oil palm
plantations which bring them no clear benefits. This publication is a portrait of that industry as it was at the end of 2014, and
hopes to aid an understanding of the main players in this industry, and which areas are likely to be affected in the future
PAPUA OIL PALM ATLAS:
The companies behind the plantation explosion
Editors: Y.L. Franky and Selwyn Morgan
First edition: March 2015
Feel free to reproduce and distribute this publication for non-commercial purposes,
but please let the authors know beforehand. The maps in this publication are
obtained from a range of sources and should be treated as an indication of location
only. Photographs in this publication are from PUSAKA's collection and other
sources.
This publication has also been produced in Indonesian. For print copies of the
Indonesian version please contact PUSAKA:
Yayasan PUSAKA, Kompleks Rawa Bambu I, Jl. H No. 4, Pasar Minggu,
Jakarta Selatan (12540), Indonesia, Telp & Fax : +62 21 7800844
Email: [email protected]
Website: pusaka.or.id
If you would like to obtain any of the GIS data used to produce the maps, please
contact awasMIFEE:
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://awasmifee.potager.org
Acknowledgements
This publication has been produced as a result of collaboration between
PUSAKA, awasMIFEE, JASOIL in Manokwari, Belantara Papua in Sorong, Bin
Madag Hom in Bintuni, SKP Merauke Diocese, JERAT PAPUAin Jayapura and
Sawit Watch in Bogor, along with other activists concerned with human rights
and the environment in Papua. The aim of this publication is to provide
information and maps about oil palm investment, corporations and other actors
involved in the oil palm business, and permits and land acquisition practices,
including when those practices are underhand or violate local peoples' rights.
We want to express our thanks to other sources, organisations and activists that
have been involved in sharing their information and documentation which have
made this publication possible, including Charles Tawaru and Erens Womsiwor
who are active with Greenpeace Papua, Leo Imbiri from YADUPA, Robertino
Hanebora in Nabire, Yuliana Langowuyo from SKPKC Fransiskan Papua, Saul
Wanimbo from SKP Timika, Marianus Maknaipeku and Dominikus Mitoro from
LEMASKO, Esau Yaung from Paradisea, Sena from KAMUKI, Andi Saragi from
Mnukwar, Agus Kalalu in Sorong, Tedi Kosamah in Teminabuan, SKP Sorong,
Kartini Samon, Wensislaus Fatubun, Santon Tekege as well as activists in
Europe working with EIA International, Greenpeace and TAPOL. The editors of
this publication take full responsibility for the final report and any possible
factual inaccuracies or misinterpretations contained within it.
Editors, Y.L. Franky and Selwyn Moran
CONTENTS
6
Introduction
8
Sorong: Timber companies see the future lies in oil palm
11
South Sorong, Maybrat: The public and private faces of the oil palm
industry
14
Bintuni Bay, Wondama Bay: West Papua' new industrial landscape: oil
and gas below ground, oil palm above ground
17
Fakfak: Big business holds the reins of agricultural expansion
19
Manokwari, Tambrauw: When land management norms are ignored,
flooding and conflict can follow
22
Keerom: Indigenous people squeezed out as transmigration policy secures
the border.
25
Jayapura: The oilpalm industry is a serious threat to the Mamberamo
valley.
28
Sarmi: A cluster of oil alm permits nestle against the boundary of protected
forest
30
Yapen, Waropen, Mamberamo Raya: The Kuriye people reject oil palm.
32
Nabire: A company starts work illegally, a forest is destroyed and a
community divided
35
Mimika: As if Freeport wasn't enough, not the Kamoro people must learn to
live with oil palm
38
Asmat, Mappi, Yahukimo: Tracks of the oil palm industry reach the
Koroway interior.
41
Merauke: Sacrificing the Malind people to 'Feed the World'
44
Boven Digoel: Shady plantation companies open the door to foreign capital
47
Recommendations
51
Company List
INTRODUCTION
If an oil palm company wants to apply for permits, it usually has to approach the
Bupati, the elected leader of each Regency. If the Bupati agrees in principle, they
will look for suitable land and issue a Location Permit. Later the company will need
recommendations at the provincial level, and if the land is classified as state forest,
then it will need a permit from the Forestry Minister to release the land from the
state forest estate.
Several observations might shed some light on why this permit process is so
untransparant: Curiously, it appears that more location permits are given out
towards the end of an leadership term in the run-up to new elections, which can
lead to the view that natural resources are being held hostage to politicians' private
interests. The company and government technical teams also frequently argue the
case that the land is "secondary forest" so they won't have problems with the
moratorium on new permits in primary forest areas. There is also very little
consideration of the local social context when the government considers whether to
release land from the state forest estate.
However, for the indigenous forest communities living on the land which the
companies are eyeing up, it is vital that they get full information about the
company's plans at the earliest possible stage. As they are the customary owners of
the forest, and dependant on it, they have the right to make a free decision about
Over the course of several months, we have tried to collect as much data as we can what happens to the land. However, often the first time they hear about plans is
about the oil palm industry in Papua. We have done this through a process of
when a company approaches them with a proposal to buy the land. By that stage,
internet research, communication with local Papuan NGOs, church organisations, the company will have been given at least a location permit, without the community
indigenous organisations and other activists, and attempts to contact government having sat down and discussed the plans. Companies then frequently use
and corporate sources. We hope it is a reasonably good guide to the state of the oil techniques of deception or intimidation to acquire that community's land, using
palm industry in West Papua and its implications for local people.
state security forces or middlemen who have family connections to the local
communities. It is very easy for a company to create conflict within a community in
Unfortunately the information is not as complete as we would like it to be. Our aim
this way, splitting them into pro- and contra-, and these conflicts can be used to the
was to provide a picture of every oil palm company with a permit to operate in
company's advantage. Communities which are better informed before the situation
Papua, together with a location map, information about who owns it, and what
gets complicated are in a much better position to decide how they want their forest
permits it has. However, that is not always so easy. We have been unable to obtain
to be used.
full lists from local government offices in most parts of West Papua, so we are left to
fill in the gaps from local community reports, media and our own research. The
The Papua Oil Palm Atlas is also an attempt to provide information about the
biggest difficulty is often trying to get information from the local government, many different companies controlling the oil palm industry in the land of Papua. These
refuse to co-operate, most never pick up the phone and so are hard to contact if
companies often use local names, or names which will give the impression of being
resources don't permit a personal visit.
pro-people and pro-environment, but in fact they are often controlled by members of
the business elite, part of large corporate groups which work together with
companies have listed their address at a law firm, but that law firm wheen visited
refused to give out any information about any client which might want to start oil
palm companies. Our visit was met with a similar response at the listed address of
PT Mega Mustika Plantation and PT Cipta Papua Plantation, which both have
Some of the corporate groups which are involved in the oil palm business in the land
plantation plans in Sorong. There are indications that this kind of company's
of Papua are amongst Indonesia's richest business people accordng to Forbes (2014)
interest is speculative - once all the permits have been obtained, then the individual
data: the Musim Mas group owned by Bachtiar Karim (personal wealth 2 billion
plantation company will be sold on to another company (one of the big national or
US$), the Raja Garuda Mas group owned by Sukanto Tanoto ($2.11 billion), the
transnational companies), that has greater access to capital and will actually
Sinar Mas Group owned by Eka Tjipta Widjaja ($5.8 billion), Salim Group owned by
operate the plantation. However this type of shady behind-closed-doors business
Anthony Salim ($5.9 billion), the Rajawali Group owned by Peter Sonddakh ($2.3
practice makes it impossible for any dealings with the local indigenous community
billion). Most of these groups has more than one concession for an oil palm
to follow principles of free prior informed consent.
plantation, and some have other businesses, such as the Rajawali group which is
Our data isn't complete but we try to be honest about the holes in it. On the maps
also developing sugar-cane plantations in the Merauke area.
on the following pages, the plantations marked in darker green are where the
Other major companies involved in Papua are the Austindo Nusantara Jaya Group,
borders are known with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Where we know the
owned by a wealthy businessman called George S. Tahija, who was well as oil palm
general location but not the exact boundary the plantation is marked in light green.
is developing the sago palm processing industry in the Metamani area of South
Finally, where we do not have reliable location information at all, we just place a
Sorong, and an electricity plant in Tembagapura, Mimika. The Kayu Lapis
box with data about the company as near as possible to where we think the location
Indonesia Group has its roots in logging, and is the largest operator of timber
might be. In the accompanying articles, as much s possible of the sources we have
concessions in Papua. The Medco Group is also active in industrial timber
used has been referenced. We haven't included information which we regard as
plantations, pulp and mining around Papua. A South Korean company, Korindo
unreliable, but we have to acknowledge that the data here is only as good as the
Group, is using land which it previously logged for its plywood business to plant oil
sources which it is based on.
palm. There are several other foreign companies operating in Papua: the Tadmax
However, we do believe it is important to struggle for full and accessible information
group from Malaysia and Pacific Interlink from Yemen which have concessions in
about plantations and other development plans, so it can become a tool of the wider
Boven Digoel, the Lion Group from Malaysia, with a large plantation in Bintuni
Bay, Noble Group, which has offices in Hong Kong has two operational plantations, struggle for communities to take control over their own future. If data is difficult to
and Carson Cumberbatch from Sri Lanka which is clearing land near Nabire for oil access, it is because it is deliberately being concealed by those with a vested interest
in denying communities this right.
palm. In contrast with other parts of Indonesia, only one oil palm plantation is
operated by the state - PTPN II in Arso. PTPN II's other plantation in Prafi,
Hopefully this publication is one contribution to that struggle for open and
Manokwari has recently been contracted out to a Chinese company, Yong Jing
accessible data about plantations in Papua, but our hope is that it is something that
Investment.
can be built on. Until the system changes, there is a need for more people to proApart from these big national and transnational companies, our research has also actively go out and find information at the local level, and share it with others.
Bringing necessary information that has been hidden into the public domain entails
shown that there are also several 'mysterious' companies who pioneer new
a collaborative effort of many people, as does ensuring this information reaches
investments, using their links with local government to obtain permits for
rural communities which are likely to be affected by development projects.
plantations. These companies operate very discreetly and try to avoid having any
kind of public profile. They don't have websites, their offices in Jakarta bear no
Ideally this will not be a static project, but it will be possible to produce future
company names and reception staff invariably refuse to give out any information.
editions. The completeness of this however, is very much dependent on reliable
Two such companies are the Menara Group which got permits for seven subsidiaries
information at the local level. Therefore we appeal to local activists, community
in Boven Digoel before selling most of them on (one of the Menara Group's
members or those who have access to government data to recognise the importance
commissioners is a former Indonesian police chief), and PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera
of open and accessible information, and to publish yourself, or get in touch with us.
Group which has managed to get permits in South Sorong, Maybrat, Mimika and
Jayapura. Another example is also in Boven Digoel, where three plantation
multinational companies. Typically these companies will also have businesses in
other sectors such as logging, industrial tree plantations, mining and industrialscale fishing, both in Papua and in other parts of Indonesia.
131.000
131.500
132.000
PT MEGA
MUSTIKA
PLANTATION
KAB. SORONG
KAB. RAJA
A M PAT
COFCO
PT CIPTA
PAPUA
PLANTATION
PT HENRISON
INTI
PERSADA
15971 ha
32546 ha
2006
-1.000
-1.000
9835 ha
KLI Group
PT INTI
KEBUN
LESTARI
14337 ha
Mega Masindo
PT SORONG
AGRO
SAWITINDO
KLI Group
KLI Group
18070 ha
PT INTI
KEBUN
SEJAHTERA
PT INTI
KEBUN
SAWIT
23205 ha
2008
PT SEMESTA
BINTANG
SENTOSA
13351 ha
?? ha
KAB. SORONG
S E L ATA N
-1.500
PT INTI
KEBUN
MAKMUR
Existing Plantation
23000 ha
Planned Plantation
Mega Masindo
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
PT PAPUA
LESTARI
ABADI
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
15631 ha
-1.500
KLI Group
Kabupaten
SORONG
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
131.000
131.500
132.000
Scale 1:700,000
SORONG:
Timber companies see the future lies in oil palm
PT HIP established its plantation on the land of the local Mooi people, who resent
the company for taking their land through trickery, or by making promises of new
facilities or education support that have never materialised. The compensation
given to communities was exceptionally low, even compared to other cases around
Papua. In one documented case ancestral land was handed over for 30000 Rupiah
per hectare ($3)4.
In 2010 PT Henrison Inti Persada was sold to the Noble Group, a Hong Kongbased agricultural commodities trading company. Noble became a member of the
Round Table on Sustainable Oil Palm, which will allow it to apply for sustainability
certification that will allow it access to premium markets. As the new owner, Noble
cannot be held responsible for the illegal logging and land-grabbing which took
place when PT HIP was owned by the Kayu Lapis Indonesia group, and so can
present a respectable image without facing up to its duties towards the community.
However new land conflicts are also continuing to emerge as PT HIP expands
further.
In 2003, the Kayu Lapis Indonesia group was the biggest logging company in
Papua, operating 1.4 million hectares of concessions. 1 One of their largest
concessions, PT Intimpura, was in Sorong, where it also owned a huge plywood
factory producing 264,000 cubic metres of plywood per year. But with the forests
vanishing fast, how can a massive timber company like this ensure it continues to
grow?
In March 2014, Chinese company COFCO
bought a majority stake in Noble's
agribusiness division, as part of its aim to
expand sufficiently to bypass the control of
large western companies on the
agricultural commodities business.5
PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera is the other
Kayu Lapis Indonesia group company that
is already operational, although planting
In common with several other timber companies, the Kayu Lapis Indonesia Group
has not been on such a large scale as PT
opted to shift its investment into the swiftly expanding oil palm industry, a few
Henrison Inti Persada. PT IKS was
2
years before its forest management permit (HPH) was due to run out in 2009 .
originally only given cultivation rights
Using the links it had build up with local government over the 15 years it had been
(HGU) on 4000 hectares, but it is likely
in the area, over the next few years it managed to get permits for five subsidiary
that this will have increased after the
companies to start oil palm plantations.
forestry department agreed to release an
Currently, two of these subsidiaries are operational. PT Henrison Inti Persada extra 19,665 hectares in September 2012.
(HIP) is the most established, getting the final permit for its plantation in Klamono In 2014, villagers were still waiting for PT
Inti Kebun Sejahtera to fulfil promises to
in 2006 (although it had already started planting oil palm illegally a few years
3
develop smallholdings for local people. 6
before) .
Other Kayu Lapis companies are waiting in the wings. The forestry ministry has
released 14,377 hectares of land for PT Inti Kebun Lestari, from an original
location permit area of 34.000 hectares. PT Inti Kebun Sawit also has received
agreement-in-principle from the forestry ministry (location permit size 37,000
hectares) and PT Inti Kebun Makmur also has a 20,000 hectare location permit
for oil palm, but has not yet applied for the forest release permit.
Other companies are also pursuing permits for oil palm. PT Papua Lestari Abadi
and PT Sorong Agro Sawitindo are local registered companies which have been
awarded in-principle permits to release state forest land of 15,631 and 18,070
hectares respectively. Their address suggests these two companies may be part of a
group called the Mega Masindo Group which states on its website7 that it is
involved in “Heavy equipment, mining and palm oil plantation.” PT Papua Lestari
Abadi was also given a 10,000 hectare
concession to explore for coal mining
in the Sorong area in 2009, and the
Mega Masindo Group has several
other coal exploration permits in
Mimika Regency. Little is known
about the ownership of this company,
which has described itself in job
adverts as a foreign company.
Three more oil palm companies are
listed on the Sorong Regency website,
which doesn't give any details about
the location or size of the plantations.
The three companies are PT Mega
Mustika Plantation, PT Cipta
Papua Plantation and PT Semesta
Bintang Sentosa.8 In late 2014, PT
Mega Mustika Plantation applied for
9835 hectares of forest to be released
from the state forest estate, while PT
Cipta Papua Plantation applied for
another 15,971 hectares, both in
Sorong City (which is administratively
separate from Sorong Regency).
132.000
132.500
-1.000
KAB. SORONG
Existing Plantation
Planned Plantation
133.000
Parent Company
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
-1.000
131.500
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
29589 ha
2013
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
PT JULONG
AGRO
PLANTATION
IndonusaAgromulia
Rajawali
PT INTERNUSA
JAYA
SEJAHTERA
PT VARIA
MITRA
ANDALAN
40000 ha
20325 ha
2014
-1.500
?? ha
K A B . M AY B R AT
-1.500
Tianjin Julong
IndonusaAgromulia
PT ANUGERAH
SAKTI
INDONUSA
ANJ Agri
PT PUSAKA
AGRO
MAKMUR
37000 ha
IndonusaAgromulia
PT DINAMIKA
AGRO
LESTARI
35000 ha
IndonusaAgromulia
23000 ha
PT PERSADA
UTAMA
AGROMULIA
25000 ha
ANJ Agri
PT PUTERA
MANUNGGAL
PERKASA
-2.000
-2.000
23424 ha
2014
ANJ Agri
KAB. SORONG
S E L ATA N
PT PERMATA
PUTERA
MANDIRI
34147 ha
2014
Kabupaten
SORONG
SELATAN,
MAYBRAT
Scale 1:800,000
131.500
132.000
132.500
133.000
SOUTH SORONG, MAYBRAT:
The public and private faces of the oil palm industry
South Sorong through its sago plantation. As was the case with the Noble Group in
Sorong, ANJ Agri chose to buy existing companies, rather than go through the
messy (and frequently not-so-respectable) process of applying for permits itself.
The previous owner of the two subsidiaries was quite a different kind of company,
one that operates very discreetly behind the scenes. To the best of our knowledge,
the name of the parent company is PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera, but it doesn't exactly
go out of the way to maintain a public profile. It operates from a smart townhouse
in Jakarta, with not even a plaque in the entrance to indicate who works there. This
company has been attempting to get land for plantations across Papua since at least
2007. It is believed to own companies processing plantation permits in Mimika (PT
Tunas Agung Sejahtera) and Jayapura-Sarmi (PT Permata Nusa Mandiri).
Previously it also had location permits in the Merauke area and a forestry
concession in Obi island, North Maluku12. It may also have mining interests.
To the north of the PT Permata Putera Mandiri and PT Putera Manunggal Perkasa
consessions, PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera also obtained the permits for another
subsidiary, PT Pusaka Agro Makmur, in adjacent Maybrat Regency. State forest
lands were released for PT Pusaka Agro Makmur's plantation in January 2014.
13
Like Sorong Regency, which it was split off from in 2002, the logged-over forests of Eventually in October 2014 ANJ Agri also bought PT Pusaka Agro Makmur ,
South Sorong are a prime target for the oil palm industry. Three oil palm companies giving the company a band of 82,468 hectares of oil palm concessions along with its
40,000 hectares of sago plantations.
have well-advanced plans to start new plantations, and several more are still
applying for permits.
ANJ Agri is controlled by Indonesian-Australian businessman George Tahija, whose
family
has a long history in Papua. His father Julius Tahija was a key link
The story of PT Permata Putera Mandiri and PT Putera Manunggal
9
supporting
Freeport's initial investment in Papua in the 1960s. George continued
Perkasa gives a good insight into the dynamics of how oil palm companies are
his interest in the mining industry as a commissioner of Freeport Indonesia and
conquering the Papuan frontier. These two companies were bought in 2013 by
also as President Director of ARC Exploration, which has been exploring for gold in
10
Austindo Nusantara Jaya Group (ANJ Agri) . At the time of sale, both
West Papua14, until he resigned his directorship in May 2014 15. He also owns a
companies had most of the key permits necessary and had succeeded in releasing
land from the state forest estate. Clearance work started on both these plantations private energy company, PT Puncak Jaya Power, which generates 100MW of
electricity and powers the Freeport mine.
in late 2013 or early 201411.
ANJ Agri is a 'respectable' company, listed on the Indonesian stock exchange and a Despite his involvement in these destructive industries, George Tahija also presents
himself as an environmentalist and nature lover. As well as climbing some of the
member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. It already has a presence in
world's highest peaks and writing books about his travels 16, he is an advisor to The
logging in the area, taking over the still-active permit of PT Bangun Kayu Irian,
presumably opening the way to a later oil palm plantation. 23
The Indonusa Agromulia Group also has location permits for four subsidiary
companies in South Sorong: PT Anugerah Sakti Internusa, PT Internusa Jaya
Sejahtera, PT Dinamika Agro Lestari, PT Persada Utama Agromulia. The
137,000 hectares of land would be an ambitious expansion for this relative
newcomer in the oil palm industry, which also has property interests in Jakarta 24.
Nature Conservancy17, and founded his own environmental NGO, the Coral
Triangle Center.18
Another oil palm company which has recently started planting, PT Varia Mitra
Andalan, has seen a few changes in its operating structure in 2014. Until July it
was reportedly owned by the Green Eagle Group19. This was a joint venture
between the Rajawali Group, (Peter Sondakh's empire which amongst many other
enterprises also operates sugar cane plantations near Merauke) and the Louis
Dreyfus Group, a French commodity-trading multinational. However, Louis
Dreyfus then pulled out of the partnership 20. In September 2014, publicly listed BW
Plantations announced a rights issue to raise the capital to buy Green Eagle
Group. However, Rajawali is still the principal owner, as it was at the same time
buying up a majority of the shares of BW Plantations. 21
PT Varia Mitra Andalan holds a 23,000 hectare location permit in Moswaren and
Wayar Districts, and the forestry ministry has agreed to release 20,325 hectares for
the plantation. Local media reported that the plantation was officially opened on
19th December 2014 when the bupati planted the first oil palm seedling. 22
The new plantation is located in the old logging concession of PT Bangun Kayu
Irian. Local activists in Sorong have related how the logging company suddenly left
the area in 1997, leaving cut logs lying in the forest. Then in 2008, Rajawali started
Finally, a Chinese company, the Tianjin Julong Group, is also reportedly aiming
to start a plantation in Saifi and Seremuk districts, through its subsidiary Julong
Agro Plantation, according to information from NGOs active in the area. There is
no information whether this company has successfully obtained any permits to
operate in Papua. The Tianjin Julong Group is a commodities trading company,
which claims on its website to be the largest importer of crude palm oil into China,
but has only ventured into developing its own oil palm plantations since 2006. Its
existing plantations are in Kalimantan, and it plans to expand. 25 One of its Central
Kalimantan subsidiaries, PT Graha Inti Jaya has caused problems for the Ngaju
Dayak people in the Kapuas area. There the company has cleared food-producing
land and the community's rubber farms, but failed to give a just level of
compensation.
133.000
133.500
134.000
134.500
135.000
K A B . M A N O K WA R I
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
-1.500
-1.500
Existing Plantation
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
PT SUBUR
KARUNIA
RAYA
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
38620 ha
24000 ha
-2.000
-2.000
PT HCW
PAPUA
PLANTATION
KAB TELUK
WONDAMA
Lion Group
PT VARITA
MAJUTAMA
(II)
PT BERKAT
SETIAKAWAN
ABADI
8937 ha
Lion Group
-2.500
-2.500
35371 ha
2013*
KAB. TELUK
BINTUNI
PT VARITA
MAJUTAMA
(I)
17270 ha
1996
Kabupaten
PT MENARA
WASIOR
-3.000
-3.000
TELUK
BINTUNI,
32173 ha
K A B . FA K FA K
TELUK
WONDAMA
Scale 1:1,200,000
133.000
133.500
134.000
134.500
135.000
TELUK BINTUNI, TELUK WONDAMA:
West Papua's new industrial landscape: oil and gas below ground, palm oil
above ground
stage.
This means that Bintuni Bay, once a remote area covered with rainforest and
mangrove forest, is in the process of being converted into an industrial landscape.
Part of this will come from the industrial-scale cultivation of oil palm, because
nowadays, as well as drilling for oil and gas, oil can also be grown on trees.
PT Varita Majutama was the first company to move in - in 1996 permission was
given to develop three blocks of 6460, 5510 and 5300 hectares respectively. At that
time the company was owned by the Jayanti Group, that was already operating a
logging concession in the same area, under subsidiary PT Agoda Rimba Irian.
Ownership of the company was transferred several times, to PT Karya Teknik and
then PT Expedisi. Finally in 2012, 100% of the shares were bought by a Malaysian
company, The Lion Group27.
Since 1996 the company has been in conflict with the local community after it
obtained the signatures of seven supposed clan chiefs, who were convinced to sign
over rights to between 15,000 and 40,000 hectares of land (according to differing
accounts) for the paltry sum of 10 million Rupiah. Some of the men were elderly and
The low-lying Bintuni bay is the centre of oil and gas development in West Papua, could not see the documents or were illiterate, and there is also some doubt that
28
with BP, Genting Oil and Eni Oil all developing or exploring subterranean reserves. they were the actual customary land rights holders for the land in question.
BP's Tangguh natural gas project is huge, with two trains up and running and a
PT Varita Majutama showed a similar attitude in 2009, when it compensated 100
third being built. Together with the area around Sorong, Bintuni Bay has been
million Rupiah for rights to 3300 hectares of land, 30,000 Rupiah per hectare. It
designated as a key node in oil and gas development in Papua in the Governments also imposed the condition that the community would not be able to demand the
Masterplan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Development (MP3EI). This plan land back before their grandchildren's generation 29.
also promotes downstream processing based around these primary industries, and
several multinational and domestic companies have declared an interest. Ferrostaal The community around Tofoi has continued to demand adequate compensation for
their loss, including for timber, sacred sites that have been destroyed, animals that
from Germany and LG from Korea, together with local partners, both want to
have
fled the area and incidents of intimidation from the security forces against the
develop methanol plants, and the Indonesia state-owned fertilizer company PT
community. In 2007 and 2012 they have taken the initiative to blockade the
Pupuk Indonesia is also lining up to invest. 26 Much of the eastern part of Bintuni
plantation as the company continues to ignore their request 30.
Regency is also covered with coal mining concessions, all still at the exploration
PT Varita Majutama nevertheless continues to expand. In January 2013 another
35,371 hectares of land were released by the forestry ministry to be planted with oil
palm. The indigenous people around Tofoi also have to contend with two oil
companies operating on their land, Genting Oil from Malaysia and Eni Oil from
Italy, and those companies bring further problems, including an increased police
and military presence. For example in 2012, the Kamisopa and Sodefa clans
disputed the boundaries of land, until a fight broke out. Police brought criminal
accusations against one man, and then forced his brother to sign a document
handing over rights to their ancestral land to Genting Oil – threatening that if he
didn't, his younger brother would face five years in prison. 31
Another company, PT Subur Karunia Raya, is also planning an oil palm
plantation in the northern part of Bintuni Bay, extending over Mayado, Biscoop,
Aranday and Tembuni districts. Although this company obtained an in-principle
permit to release state forest lands for their plantation back in 2011, no recent news
confirms the progress to date.
News emerged recently that four landowning clans (Iba, Menci, Hornas and Irai)
had handed the rights to 24,000 hectares to an oil palm company PT HCW Papua
Plantation. That company has currently been unable to obtain the release of the
land they seek from the forestry ministry, but has the right to try again. We have
not been able to establish who owns PT HCW Papua Plantation. Staff at their
registered address in North Jakarta (the same address as PT Mega Mustika
Plantation and PT Cipta Papua Plantation which are trying to establish plantations
in Sorong) refused to give any information whatsoever about the company, and no
signboards gave any further clues.
In early March 2015, another prospective investor named PT Menara Wasior
announced its intention to develop 32,173 hectares of oil palm and a factory with a
capacity of 2x90 tons of fresh fruit bunches / hour, to be located in the Kuriwamesa
and Naikere districts, Wondama Bay regency. The company holds a location permit
from the regency head and an in-principle permit from the forestry ministry. The
Naikere sub-district head said that he had heard of the plan, but the company had
never presented its plans to the local people
Also in Teluk Wondama Regency, to the east of Bintuni Bay, a company named PT
Berkat Setiakawan Abadi was granted a forest release permit for 8937 hectares
of land in January 2014, but this company will plant rubber, not oil palm.
132.000
132.500
133.000
133.500
Salim Group*
PT RIMBUN
SAWIT
PAPUA
30596 ha
-3.000
-3.000
KAB. TELUK
BINTUNI
K A B . FA K FA K
-3.500
-3.500
KAB. KAIMANA
-4.000
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
-4.000
Existing Plantation
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
132.000
132.500
133.000
133.500
Kabupaten
FAKFAK
Scale 1:1,000,000
FAKFAK: Big business holds the reins of agricultural expansion
Merlin Office Complex on Jalan Gajah Madah, Jakarta. This is the same address as
several subsidiary companies of Salim Ivomas Pratama, which is owned by
Indofood Agri Resources, part of the Salim Group. The Director of PT Rimbun
Sawit Papua is Jef Setiawan Winata, a businessman from Bandung who has
operated several businesses in the Fakfak area for many years.
Although PT Rimbun Sawit Papua has not yet begun planting, there have already
been reports of police repression when local people have expressed their opposition
to oil palm. In February 2012, local media reported that ten people were arrested in
Fakfak city after intercepting a team from the agriculture ministry that were
coming to observe land for oil palm development in the Bomberay area. 32
Local activists fear that this oil palm plantation may be one part of a wider plan to
develop agribusiness across much of the regency. 33 In the Bomberay area near PT
Rimbun Sawit Papua's concession, the plan would be for an agricultural city
(agropolitan), and large-scale cattle farming. Other potential plans include large
corn and industrial forestry plantations. However, details of particular companies
that may be involved are yet to be confirmed.
In Kaimana Regency, which borders Fakfak, two companies applied for permission
to release land from the state forest estate in July 2013: PT Cipta Palm Sejati
(49000 ha) and PT Agro Mulya Lestari (50,500 ha). Their application was not
successful and it is not known whether these two companies are still pursuing their
investment plans. We have no further information about any companies which
might have managed to obtain permits to plant oil palm in Kaimana.
One company PT Rimbun Sawit Papua is planning an oil palm plantation in
Otoweri and Mbina Jaya villages in Bomberay District. This area is just across the
Regency border from the main industrial zone in Bintuni Bay Regency, and in the
same way is facing oil palm and gas development simultaneously, as it also lies
within the Kasuari block where Genting Oil is exploring for gas.
PT Rimbun Sawit Papua may be in a position to start clearing forest soon. In
January 2014 the Forestry Ministry approved the release of 25,286 hectares of state
forest. Additionally PT Rimbun Sawit Papua's location permit includes 7,581
hectares that are already classified as 'other use areas', in and around the
Bomberay transmigration clusters.
The company's address in its Environmental Impact Assessment is in the Duta
133.500
134.000
Medco
KAB.
TA M B R A U W
-0.500
133.000
-0.500
132.500
PT MEDCO
PAPUA HIJAU
SELARAS
-1.000
-1.000
18000 ha
2008
K A B . M A N O K WA R I
YONGJING
INVESTMENT
(ex-PTPN II)
-1.500
-1.500
17974 ha*
1982
Existing Plantation
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
Kabupaten
MANOKWARI,
TAMBRAUW
KAB. TELUK
BINTUNI
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
132.500
133.000
133.500
134.000
Scale 1:1,000,000
MANOKWARI, TAMBRAUW: When land management norms are
ignored, flooding and conflict can follow
PTPN II is currently coming to the end of its licence to operate, and the future of
the land remains uncertain. Some in the local government in Manokwari reportedly
came up with a plan to take it over as a local-government owned business (the local
government already operates a small amount of oil palm in the area), but this was
never realised. Instead PTPN II auctioned off 3000 hectares of oil palm which they
owned the cultivation rights for, as well as their factory, to a Chinese company, PT
Yong Jing Investment for 87.3 billion Rupiah. The auction was somewhat
irregular and improcedural. It was only announced ten days before it happened,
which meant that PT Yong Jing Investment, the sole bidder, was able to acquire the
assets for far below their market value of 114 billion Rupiah, as calculated by PT
Sucofindo. An agreement to sell the land and assets has surfaced, signed by the
director of PT Yong Jing investment and the director of PADOMA, a company owned
by the West Papua Provincial Government.34
The government and PTPN II never informed local residents about this sale and
transfer of assets. Transferring the cultivation rights without the knowledge of the
community violates important agreements. Local indigenous communities still have
customary rights over the plantation land and indeed in many cases have never
received fair compensation for the land, nor the promised social facilities which were
supposed to have been built. What's more, the period of tenure guaranteed by PTPN
II's cultivation rights has actually expired.
On the other hand transmigrant smallholders are also anxious because in many
cases their claim to the land is not secure. Many have never been issued a certificate
for their land, meaning they have no guarantees whatsoever. The root of the
problem lies with the government transmigration scheme itself, since the
government never resolved the land rights issue with the indigenous landowners.
The government just took indigenous land to be cultivated by transmigrants, never
arranged a dialogue to resolve the issue, and never gave compensation. This has
often become the trigger for tension between transmigrant and indigenous
communities, and between the community as a whole and the government and
company.35
Manokwari Regency is mostly mountainous and unsuitable for oil palm, but at the
base of the mountains one long plain runs from near Manokwari city westwards for
about 100km, meeting the coast along its way. It is here that the two operational oil
palm plantations are located. State-owned PTPN II was the first company to plant
oil palm in Papua, moving into Manokwari in 1980. Planting oil palm in this area
was intended to facilitate the migration of farmers from other parts of Indonesia
such as Java and West Timor. Because of this, a large part of the plantation is a
smallholder program, where mostly transmigrant families, as well as a few
Papuans, were each allocated two hectares of oil palm, selling their produce to the
company.
Medco was the second company to start a plantation in 2008, adjacent to PTPN II's
plantation in Sidey and Masni districts, and the plantation is operated by its
violating flood protection regulations which require a buffer zone to be
subsidiary company PT Medcopapua Hijau Selaras. Medco started planting on maintained.37
land which wasn't classified as state forest, including land taken over from PTPN II, The new Tambrauw Regency was split off from Manokwari and Sorong in 2008.
and then the forestry ministry also released an additional 6791 hectares of state
Currently there are not believed to be any oil palm companies active in the area.
forest land in 2012. The company is reportedly still trying to expand.
Previously, a company called PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa had obtained an inMedco bought land from the village chiefs who own the customary land rights at a
flat rate of 450,000 rupiah per hectare for a 30 year lease. While this amount may
be higher than other plantation companies in Papua have given, it is nevertheless a
tiny fraction of the economic benefits that the forest could provide to the community
over that time. In November 2012 media reported that local indigenous people
closed down Medco's office, bringing the company to a standstill. They were
objecting that the company had not fulfilled its promises to provide opportunities to
local Papuans36.
principle permit for almost 40,000 hectares in Abun and Kebar districts. PT Papua
Sawita Raya (Rajawali) also had a location permit from the previous Sorong
administration in Moraid. Both are now thought to be inactive, and in both cases
the districts they are located in have been the subject of dispute between rival local
governments wanting to claim control. It is hard to avoid theconclusion that these
disputes are due to the different administrations wishing to benefit from any
resource industries which might be located in the area, potentially including oil
palm.
In the case of Moraid, the Sorong Regency has maintained its claim over the
territory, including losing an appeal in the Constitutional Court, and a new law in
2013 clarified that Moraid District was indeed part of Tambrauw. 38 Different
villages supported different regencies and there were fears that violence might
break out around the tie of the 2014 legislative elections. Indeed, violent incidents
did occur, at one point the district chief was beaten up. 39 On the Manokwari side, a
plan was hatched to divide Tambrauw Regency once more, with Kebar District
entering a new West Manokwari Regency.
Since Medco started planting, residents in the area of Sungai Wariori have been
complaining of increasingly frequent flooding. Then in March 2014, a huge flood
swept through the area, severely damaging scores of houses and causing hundreds
of people to be evacuated. Material losses were estimated to have reached billions
of Rupiah. Medco had planted oil palm right up to the boundaries of the river,
140.000
140.500
141.000
PT PN II
PT PALOWAY
ABADI
4885 ha
Rajawali
PT TANDAN
SAWITA
PAPUA
18337 ha
2010
KAB. KEEROM
Patria Group
-3.500
PT SEMARAK
AGRO
LESTARI
PT BIO
BUDIDAYA
NABATI
K A B . J AYA P U R A
Existing Plantation
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
7400 ha
Parent Company
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
140.000
140.500
141.000
-3.000
PT Victory
PT VICTORY
CEMERLANG
INDONESIA
-3.500
PA P U A N E W G U I N E A
-3.000
17974 ha
1982
Kabupaten
KEEROM
Scale 1:700,000
KEEROM:
Indigenous people squeezed out as transmigration policy
secures the border
bitter for Keerom's indigenous population than PTPN II was previously. First of all,
the money given in exchange for ancestral land was only an average of 384,000
Rupiah per hectare,44 after negotiations only with the kereth (clan) leaders and
other male community leaders. 45 Then after four years of operation, it appears that
the company has not kept its promises to develop health and education facilities. 46
Working conditions and pay have also been a concern for PT Tandan Sawita Papua's
Large amounts of the indigenous people's land was taken for this, with local people
employees47. After demonstrations about the reduction in pay, two employees were
having no choice to object for fear of being labelled as separatist OPM fighters - the
summoned to the police station in April 2014, after which they were held in custody
conflict between the Papuan guerrillas and the Indonesian state was rather hot at
for two weeks. On their release they were made to sign statements accepting their
the time40. PTPN II was no stranger to using these tactics of fear which had become
dismissal from the company and saying that they would make no further demands. 48
legitimate throughout the Suharto dictatorship – previously in the 1970s it had
acquired most of it's land near its home base in North Sumatra by using the
military to seize farmers' land, threatening them with being treated as communists.
Keerom Regency lies along the border with Papua New Guinea, in the hinterland of
Jayapura city. In the early 1980s plans were made to develop the Arso area for
transmigration. As in Manokwari, a key element of this was an oil palm plantation
operated by state owned company PTPN-II. Much of the oil palm land would be
farmed by the new migrants - a scheme known as PIR.
PTPN II in Keerom was never successful economically, the transmigrant farmers
who participated in the PIR scheme struggled to make a living, and the indigenous
Papuans even more so41. However, the plantation did serve its purpose as a pioneer
as Arso became a thriving agricultural area. However the overwhelming majority of
the population are newcomers to the area, and indigenous Papuans are severely
economically marginalised42.
In 2007 PTPN II estimated that its factory processed fruit from 8339 hectares of
land. This includes 1068 hectares which is currently farmed by PT Bumi Irian
Perkasa, a local company which also takes on construction contracts such as the
Jayapura-Sentani road widening project.
In 2010 PT Tandan Sawita Papua became the second plantation company to clear
the forests of Keerom, obtaining a 26,300 hectare location permit, which later
became a plantation permit for 18,337 hectares of oil palm, . This company is
operated by the Green Eagle Group, which until recently was a joint venture
between the Rajawali corporation and the French multinational Louis Dreyfus
Papuans who relied on the forest for food were increasing squeezed out by these two
Commodities. Louis Dreyfus pulled out in July 2014. The Green Eagle Group was
companies and the growth of the transmigration zone. They have had to defend the
then bought by publicly-listed BW Plantations, but Rajawali has maintained its
remaining pieces of forest. One such area is known as golden triangle between Arso
overall control as it also bought a majority share in BW Plantations. 43
Kota, Workwama and Wambes. Previously local people have resorted to burning
Many reports indicate that the experience with this new company has been no less
logging camps to try to save the forest 49. Now a company that has operated a timber
business in the area for several years, PT Victory Cemerlang Indonesia Wood
Industries, has obtained a permit for a 4885 hectare oil palm plantation. There is
strong local opposition.50
PT Paloway Abadi has had a permit in the area for some time, probably in Skanto
District, and may even have started planting. However, it was not possible to find
further information about its operations.
While Arso becomes more developed, further inland in Keerom is still isolated and
forested, mostly still primary forest. However, there are plans to extend the
transmigration zone to this area. A 2009 government policy for 'Integrated
Independent Cities' was a strategic plan to consolidate Indonesia's presence along
its land borders. One of these was designated in Senggi dis
The companies behind the plantation explosion
During the last few decades, Indonesia's oil palm industry has been growing rapidly, but focussed almost entirely on the
islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In Papua on the other hand, by 2015, only seven companies had successfully developed
plantations. Now, as space becomes limited on those western islands, investors are increasingly looking to the east for new
land. There are currently 21 companies that have cleared forests and started operating in Papua, the majority of which have
only started their operations in the last five years. Twenty other companies are in an advanced stage of the permit process and
appear to be almost ready to start clearing land. Dozens more are still applying for the permits they need. This rapid growth is
having serious adverse effects on Papua's indigenous population. For almost every single existing plantation, there have been
reports that local indigenous people have lost out when the forests they depend on for their livelihood become oil palm
plantations which bring them no clear benefits. This publication is a portrait of that industry as it was at the end of 2014, and
hopes to aid an understanding of the main players in this industry, and which areas are likely to be affected in the future
PAPUA OIL PALM ATLAS:
The companies behind the plantation explosion
Editors: Y.L. Franky and Selwyn Morgan
First edition: March 2015
Feel free to reproduce and distribute this publication for non-commercial purposes,
but please let the authors know beforehand. The maps in this publication are
obtained from a range of sources and should be treated as an indication of location
only. Photographs in this publication are from PUSAKA's collection and other
sources.
This publication has also been produced in Indonesian. For print copies of the
Indonesian version please contact PUSAKA:
Yayasan PUSAKA, Kompleks Rawa Bambu I, Jl. H No. 4, Pasar Minggu,
Jakarta Selatan (12540), Indonesia, Telp & Fax : +62 21 7800844
Email: [email protected]
Website: pusaka.or.id
If you would like to obtain any of the GIS data used to produce the maps, please
contact awasMIFEE:
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://awasmifee.potager.org
Acknowledgements
This publication has been produced as a result of collaboration between
PUSAKA, awasMIFEE, JASOIL in Manokwari, Belantara Papua in Sorong, Bin
Madag Hom in Bintuni, SKP Merauke Diocese, JERAT PAPUAin Jayapura and
Sawit Watch in Bogor, along with other activists concerned with human rights
and the environment in Papua. The aim of this publication is to provide
information and maps about oil palm investment, corporations and other actors
involved in the oil palm business, and permits and land acquisition practices,
including when those practices are underhand or violate local peoples' rights.
We want to express our thanks to other sources, organisations and activists that
have been involved in sharing their information and documentation which have
made this publication possible, including Charles Tawaru and Erens Womsiwor
who are active with Greenpeace Papua, Leo Imbiri from YADUPA, Robertino
Hanebora in Nabire, Yuliana Langowuyo from SKPKC Fransiskan Papua, Saul
Wanimbo from SKP Timika, Marianus Maknaipeku and Dominikus Mitoro from
LEMASKO, Esau Yaung from Paradisea, Sena from KAMUKI, Andi Saragi from
Mnukwar, Agus Kalalu in Sorong, Tedi Kosamah in Teminabuan, SKP Sorong,
Kartini Samon, Wensislaus Fatubun, Santon Tekege as well as activists in
Europe working with EIA International, Greenpeace and TAPOL. The editors of
this publication take full responsibility for the final report and any possible
factual inaccuracies or misinterpretations contained within it.
Editors, Y.L. Franky and Selwyn Moran
CONTENTS
6
Introduction
8
Sorong: Timber companies see the future lies in oil palm
11
South Sorong, Maybrat: The public and private faces of the oil palm
industry
14
Bintuni Bay, Wondama Bay: West Papua' new industrial landscape: oil
and gas below ground, oil palm above ground
17
Fakfak: Big business holds the reins of agricultural expansion
19
Manokwari, Tambrauw: When land management norms are ignored,
flooding and conflict can follow
22
Keerom: Indigenous people squeezed out as transmigration policy secures
the border.
25
Jayapura: The oilpalm industry is a serious threat to the Mamberamo
valley.
28
Sarmi: A cluster of oil alm permits nestle against the boundary of protected
forest
30
Yapen, Waropen, Mamberamo Raya: The Kuriye people reject oil palm.
32
Nabire: A company starts work illegally, a forest is destroyed and a
community divided
35
Mimika: As if Freeport wasn't enough, not the Kamoro people must learn to
live with oil palm
38
Asmat, Mappi, Yahukimo: Tracks of the oil palm industry reach the
Koroway interior.
41
Merauke: Sacrificing the Malind people to 'Feed the World'
44
Boven Digoel: Shady plantation companies open the door to foreign capital
47
Recommendations
51
Company List
INTRODUCTION
If an oil palm company wants to apply for permits, it usually has to approach the
Bupati, the elected leader of each Regency. If the Bupati agrees in principle, they
will look for suitable land and issue a Location Permit. Later the company will need
recommendations at the provincial level, and if the land is classified as state forest,
then it will need a permit from the Forestry Minister to release the land from the
state forest estate.
Several observations might shed some light on why this permit process is so
untransparant: Curiously, it appears that more location permits are given out
towards the end of an leadership term in the run-up to new elections, which can
lead to the view that natural resources are being held hostage to politicians' private
interests. The company and government technical teams also frequently argue the
case that the land is "secondary forest" so they won't have problems with the
moratorium on new permits in primary forest areas. There is also very little
consideration of the local social context when the government considers whether to
release land from the state forest estate.
However, for the indigenous forest communities living on the land which the
companies are eyeing up, it is vital that they get full information about the
company's plans at the earliest possible stage. As they are the customary owners of
the forest, and dependant on it, they have the right to make a free decision about
Over the course of several months, we have tried to collect as much data as we can what happens to the land. However, often the first time they hear about plans is
about the oil palm industry in Papua. We have done this through a process of
when a company approaches them with a proposal to buy the land. By that stage,
internet research, communication with local Papuan NGOs, church organisations, the company will have been given at least a location permit, without the community
indigenous organisations and other activists, and attempts to contact government having sat down and discussed the plans. Companies then frequently use
and corporate sources. We hope it is a reasonably good guide to the state of the oil techniques of deception or intimidation to acquire that community's land, using
palm industry in West Papua and its implications for local people.
state security forces or middlemen who have family connections to the local
communities. It is very easy for a company to create conflict within a community in
Unfortunately the information is not as complete as we would like it to be. Our aim
this way, splitting them into pro- and contra-, and these conflicts can be used to the
was to provide a picture of every oil palm company with a permit to operate in
company's advantage. Communities which are better informed before the situation
Papua, together with a location map, information about who owns it, and what
gets complicated are in a much better position to decide how they want their forest
permits it has. However, that is not always so easy. We have been unable to obtain
to be used.
full lists from local government offices in most parts of West Papua, so we are left to
fill in the gaps from local community reports, media and our own research. The
The Papua Oil Palm Atlas is also an attempt to provide information about the
biggest difficulty is often trying to get information from the local government, many different companies controlling the oil palm industry in the land of Papua. These
refuse to co-operate, most never pick up the phone and so are hard to contact if
companies often use local names, or names which will give the impression of being
resources don't permit a personal visit.
pro-people and pro-environment, but in fact they are often controlled by members of
the business elite, part of large corporate groups which work together with
companies have listed their address at a law firm, but that law firm wheen visited
refused to give out any information about any client which might want to start oil
palm companies. Our visit was met with a similar response at the listed address of
PT Mega Mustika Plantation and PT Cipta Papua Plantation, which both have
Some of the corporate groups which are involved in the oil palm business in the land
plantation plans in Sorong. There are indications that this kind of company's
of Papua are amongst Indonesia's richest business people accordng to Forbes (2014)
interest is speculative - once all the permits have been obtained, then the individual
data: the Musim Mas group owned by Bachtiar Karim (personal wealth 2 billion
plantation company will be sold on to another company (one of the big national or
US$), the Raja Garuda Mas group owned by Sukanto Tanoto ($2.11 billion), the
transnational companies), that has greater access to capital and will actually
Sinar Mas Group owned by Eka Tjipta Widjaja ($5.8 billion), Salim Group owned by
operate the plantation. However this type of shady behind-closed-doors business
Anthony Salim ($5.9 billion), the Rajawali Group owned by Peter Sonddakh ($2.3
practice makes it impossible for any dealings with the local indigenous community
billion). Most of these groups has more than one concession for an oil palm
to follow principles of free prior informed consent.
plantation, and some have other businesses, such as the Rajawali group which is
Our data isn't complete but we try to be honest about the holes in it. On the maps
also developing sugar-cane plantations in the Merauke area.
on the following pages, the plantations marked in darker green are where the
Other major companies involved in Papua are the Austindo Nusantara Jaya Group,
borders are known with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Where we know the
owned by a wealthy businessman called George S. Tahija, who was well as oil palm
general location but not the exact boundary the plantation is marked in light green.
is developing the sago palm processing industry in the Metamani area of South
Finally, where we do not have reliable location information at all, we just place a
Sorong, and an electricity plant in Tembagapura, Mimika. The Kayu Lapis
box with data about the company as near as possible to where we think the location
Indonesia Group has its roots in logging, and is the largest operator of timber
might be. In the accompanying articles, as much s possible of the sources we have
concessions in Papua. The Medco Group is also active in industrial timber
used has been referenced. We haven't included information which we regard as
plantations, pulp and mining around Papua. A South Korean company, Korindo
unreliable, but we have to acknowledge that the data here is only as good as the
Group, is using land which it previously logged for its plywood business to plant oil
sources which it is based on.
palm. There are several other foreign companies operating in Papua: the Tadmax
However, we do believe it is important to struggle for full and accessible information
group from Malaysia and Pacific Interlink from Yemen which have concessions in
about plantations and other development plans, so it can become a tool of the wider
Boven Digoel, the Lion Group from Malaysia, with a large plantation in Bintuni
Bay, Noble Group, which has offices in Hong Kong has two operational plantations, struggle for communities to take control over their own future. If data is difficult to
and Carson Cumberbatch from Sri Lanka which is clearing land near Nabire for oil access, it is because it is deliberately being concealed by those with a vested interest
in denying communities this right.
palm. In contrast with other parts of Indonesia, only one oil palm plantation is
operated by the state - PTPN II in Arso. PTPN II's other plantation in Prafi,
Hopefully this publication is one contribution to that struggle for open and
Manokwari has recently been contracted out to a Chinese company, Yong Jing
accessible data about plantations in Papua, but our hope is that it is something that
Investment.
can be built on. Until the system changes, there is a need for more people to proApart from these big national and transnational companies, our research has also actively go out and find information at the local level, and share it with others.
Bringing necessary information that has been hidden into the public domain entails
shown that there are also several 'mysterious' companies who pioneer new
a collaborative effort of many people, as does ensuring this information reaches
investments, using their links with local government to obtain permits for
rural communities which are likely to be affected by development projects.
plantations. These companies operate very discreetly and try to avoid having any
kind of public profile. They don't have websites, their offices in Jakarta bear no
Ideally this will not be a static project, but it will be possible to produce future
company names and reception staff invariably refuse to give out any information.
editions. The completeness of this however, is very much dependent on reliable
Two such companies are the Menara Group which got permits for seven subsidiaries
information at the local level. Therefore we appeal to local activists, community
in Boven Digoel before selling most of them on (one of the Menara Group's
members or those who have access to government data to recognise the importance
commissioners is a former Indonesian police chief), and PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera
of open and accessible information, and to publish yourself, or get in touch with us.
Group which has managed to get permits in South Sorong, Maybrat, Mimika and
Jayapura. Another example is also in Boven Digoel, where three plantation
multinational companies. Typically these companies will also have businesses in
other sectors such as logging, industrial tree plantations, mining and industrialscale fishing, both in Papua and in other parts of Indonesia.
131.000
131.500
132.000
PT MEGA
MUSTIKA
PLANTATION
KAB. SORONG
KAB. RAJA
A M PAT
COFCO
PT CIPTA
PAPUA
PLANTATION
PT HENRISON
INTI
PERSADA
15971 ha
32546 ha
2006
-1.000
-1.000
9835 ha
KLI Group
PT INTI
KEBUN
LESTARI
14337 ha
Mega Masindo
PT SORONG
AGRO
SAWITINDO
KLI Group
KLI Group
18070 ha
PT INTI
KEBUN
SEJAHTERA
PT INTI
KEBUN
SAWIT
23205 ha
2008
PT SEMESTA
BINTANG
SENTOSA
13351 ha
?? ha
KAB. SORONG
S E L ATA N
-1.500
PT INTI
KEBUN
MAKMUR
Existing Plantation
23000 ha
Planned Plantation
Mega Masindo
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
PT PAPUA
LESTARI
ABADI
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
15631 ha
-1.500
KLI Group
Kabupaten
SORONG
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
131.000
131.500
132.000
Scale 1:700,000
SORONG:
Timber companies see the future lies in oil palm
PT HIP established its plantation on the land of the local Mooi people, who resent
the company for taking their land through trickery, or by making promises of new
facilities or education support that have never materialised. The compensation
given to communities was exceptionally low, even compared to other cases around
Papua. In one documented case ancestral land was handed over for 30000 Rupiah
per hectare ($3)4.
In 2010 PT Henrison Inti Persada was sold to the Noble Group, a Hong Kongbased agricultural commodities trading company. Noble became a member of the
Round Table on Sustainable Oil Palm, which will allow it to apply for sustainability
certification that will allow it access to premium markets. As the new owner, Noble
cannot be held responsible for the illegal logging and land-grabbing which took
place when PT HIP was owned by the Kayu Lapis Indonesia group, and so can
present a respectable image without facing up to its duties towards the community.
However new land conflicts are also continuing to emerge as PT HIP expands
further.
In 2003, the Kayu Lapis Indonesia group was the biggest logging company in
Papua, operating 1.4 million hectares of concessions. 1 One of their largest
concessions, PT Intimpura, was in Sorong, where it also owned a huge plywood
factory producing 264,000 cubic metres of plywood per year. But with the forests
vanishing fast, how can a massive timber company like this ensure it continues to
grow?
In March 2014, Chinese company COFCO
bought a majority stake in Noble's
agribusiness division, as part of its aim to
expand sufficiently to bypass the control of
large western companies on the
agricultural commodities business.5
PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera is the other
Kayu Lapis Indonesia group company that
is already operational, although planting
In common with several other timber companies, the Kayu Lapis Indonesia Group
has not been on such a large scale as PT
opted to shift its investment into the swiftly expanding oil palm industry, a few
Henrison Inti Persada. PT IKS was
2
years before its forest management permit (HPH) was due to run out in 2009 .
originally only given cultivation rights
Using the links it had build up with local government over the 15 years it had been
(HGU) on 4000 hectares, but it is likely
in the area, over the next few years it managed to get permits for five subsidiary
that this will have increased after the
companies to start oil palm plantations.
forestry department agreed to release an
Currently, two of these subsidiaries are operational. PT Henrison Inti Persada extra 19,665 hectares in September 2012.
(HIP) is the most established, getting the final permit for its plantation in Klamono In 2014, villagers were still waiting for PT
Inti Kebun Sejahtera to fulfil promises to
in 2006 (although it had already started planting oil palm illegally a few years
3
develop smallholdings for local people. 6
before) .
Other Kayu Lapis companies are waiting in the wings. The forestry ministry has
released 14,377 hectares of land for PT Inti Kebun Lestari, from an original
location permit area of 34.000 hectares. PT Inti Kebun Sawit also has received
agreement-in-principle from the forestry ministry (location permit size 37,000
hectares) and PT Inti Kebun Makmur also has a 20,000 hectare location permit
for oil palm, but has not yet applied for the forest release permit.
Other companies are also pursuing permits for oil palm. PT Papua Lestari Abadi
and PT Sorong Agro Sawitindo are local registered companies which have been
awarded in-principle permits to release state forest land of 15,631 and 18,070
hectares respectively. Their address suggests these two companies may be part of a
group called the Mega Masindo Group which states on its website7 that it is
involved in “Heavy equipment, mining and palm oil plantation.” PT Papua Lestari
Abadi was also given a 10,000 hectare
concession to explore for coal mining
in the Sorong area in 2009, and the
Mega Masindo Group has several
other coal exploration permits in
Mimika Regency. Little is known
about the ownership of this company,
which has described itself in job
adverts as a foreign company.
Three more oil palm companies are
listed on the Sorong Regency website,
which doesn't give any details about
the location or size of the plantations.
The three companies are PT Mega
Mustika Plantation, PT Cipta
Papua Plantation and PT Semesta
Bintang Sentosa.8 In late 2014, PT
Mega Mustika Plantation applied for
9835 hectares of forest to be released
from the state forest estate, while PT
Cipta Papua Plantation applied for
another 15,971 hectares, both in
Sorong City (which is administratively
separate from Sorong Regency).
132.000
132.500
-1.000
KAB. SORONG
Existing Plantation
Planned Plantation
133.000
Parent Company
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
-1.000
131.500
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
29589 ha
2013
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
PT JULONG
AGRO
PLANTATION
IndonusaAgromulia
Rajawali
PT INTERNUSA
JAYA
SEJAHTERA
PT VARIA
MITRA
ANDALAN
40000 ha
20325 ha
2014
-1.500
?? ha
K A B . M AY B R AT
-1.500
Tianjin Julong
IndonusaAgromulia
PT ANUGERAH
SAKTI
INDONUSA
ANJ Agri
PT PUSAKA
AGRO
MAKMUR
37000 ha
IndonusaAgromulia
PT DINAMIKA
AGRO
LESTARI
35000 ha
IndonusaAgromulia
23000 ha
PT PERSADA
UTAMA
AGROMULIA
25000 ha
ANJ Agri
PT PUTERA
MANUNGGAL
PERKASA
-2.000
-2.000
23424 ha
2014
ANJ Agri
KAB. SORONG
S E L ATA N
PT PERMATA
PUTERA
MANDIRI
34147 ha
2014
Kabupaten
SORONG
SELATAN,
MAYBRAT
Scale 1:800,000
131.500
132.000
132.500
133.000
SOUTH SORONG, MAYBRAT:
The public and private faces of the oil palm industry
South Sorong through its sago plantation. As was the case with the Noble Group in
Sorong, ANJ Agri chose to buy existing companies, rather than go through the
messy (and frequently not-so-respectable) process of applying for permits itself.
The previous owner of the two subsidiaries was quite a different kind of company,
one that operates very discreetly behind the scenes. To the best of our knowledge,
the name of the parent company is PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera, but it doesn't exactly
go out of the way to maintain a public profile. It operates from a smart townhouse
in Jakarta, with not even a plaque in the entrance to indicate who works there. This
company has been attempting to get land for plantations across Papua since at least
2007. It is believed to own companies processing plantation permits in Mimika (PT
Tunas Agung Sejahtera) and Jayapura-Sarmi (PT Permata Nusa Mandiri).
Previously it also had location permits in the Merauke area and a forestry
concession in Obi island, North Maluku12. It may also have mining interests.
To the north of the PT Permata Putera Mandiri and PT Putera Manunggal Perkasa
consessions, PT Pusaka Agro Sejahtera also obtained the permits for another
subsidiary, PT Pusaka Agro Makmur, in adjacent Maybrat Regency. State forest
lands were released for PT Pusaka Agro Makmur's plantation in January 2014.
13
Like Sorong Regency, which it was split off from in 2002, the logged-over forests of Eventually in October 2014 ANJ Agri also bought PT Pusaka Agro Makmur ,
South Sorong are a prime target for the oil palm industry. Three oil palm companies giving the company a band of 82,468 hectares of oil palm concessions along with its
40,000 hectares of sago plantations.
have well-advanced plans to start new plantations, and several more are still
applying for permits.
ANJ Agri is controlled by Indonesian-Australian businessman George Tahija, whose
family
has a long history in Papua. His father Julius Tahija was a key link
The story of PT Permata Putera Mandiri and PT Putera Manunggal
9
supporting
Freeport's initial investment in Papua in the 1960s. George continued
Perkasa gives a good insight into the dynamics of how oil palm companies are
his interest in the mining industry as a commissioner of Freeport Indonesia and
conquering the Papuan frontier. These two companies were bought in 2013 by
also as President Director of ARC Exploration, which has been exploring for gold in
10
Austindo Nusantara Jaya Group (ANJ Agri) . At the time of sale, both
West Papua14, until he resigned his directorship in May 2014 15. He also owns a
companies had most of the key permits necessary and had succeeded in releasing
land from the state forest estate. Clearance work started on both these plantations private energy company, PT Puncak Jaya Power, which generates 100MW of
electricity and powers the Freeport mine.
in late 2013 or early 201411.
ANJ Agri is a 'respectable' company, listed on the Indonesian stock exchange and a Despite his involvement in these destructive industries, George Tahija also presents
himself as an environmentalist and nature lover. As well as climbing some of the
member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. It already has a presence in
world's highest peaks and writing books about his travels 16, he is an advisor to The
logging in the area, taking over the still-active permit of PT Bangun Kayu Irian,
presumably opening the way to a later oil palm plantation. 23
The Indonusa Agromulia Group also has location permits for four subsidiary
companies in South Sorong: PT Anugerah Sakti Internusa, PT Internusa Jaya
Sejahtera, PT Dinamika Agro Lestari, PT Persada Utama Agromulia. The
137,000 hectares of land would be an ambitious expansion for this relative
newcomer in the oil palm industry, which also has property interests in Jakarta 24.
Nature Conservancy17, and founded his own environmental NGO, the Coral
Triangle Center.18
Another oil palm company which has recently started planting, PT Varia Mitra
Andalan, has seen a few changes in its operating structure in 2014. Until July it
was reportedly owned by the Green Eagle Group19. This was a joint venture
between the Rajawali Group, (Peter Sondakh's empire which amongst many other
enterprises also operates sugar cane plantations near Merauke) and the Louis
Dreyfus Group, a French commodity-trading multinational. However, Louis
Dreyfus then pulled out of the partnership 20. In September 2014, publicly listed BW
Plantations announced a rights issue to raise the capital to buy Green Eagle
Group. However, Rajawali is still the principal owner, as it was at the same time
buying up a majority of the shares of BW Plantations. 21
PT Varia Mitra Andalan holds a 23,000 hectare location permit in Moswaren and
Wayar Districts, and the forestry ministry has agreed to release 20,325 hectares for
the plantation. Local media reported that the plantation was officially opened on
19th December 2014 when the bupati planted the first oil palm seedling. 22
The new plantation is located in the old logging concession of PT Bangun Kayu
Irian. Local activists in Sorong have related how the logging company suddenly left
the area in 1997, leaving cut logs lying in the forest. Then in 2008, Rajawali started
Finally, a Chinese company, the Tianjin Julong Group, is also reportedly aiming
to start a plantation in Saifi and Seremuk districts, through its subsidiary Julong
Agro Plantation, according to information from NGOs active in the area. There is
no information whether this company has successfully obtained any permits to
operate in Papua. The Tianjin Julong Group is a commodities trading company,
which claims on its website to be the largest importer of crude palm oil into China,
but has only ventured into developing its own oil palm plantations since 2006. Its
existing plantations are in Kalimantan, and it plans to expand. 25 One of its Central
Kalimantan subsidiaries, PT Graha Inti Jaya has caused problems for the Ngaju
Dayak people in the Kapuas area. There the company has cleared food-producing
land and the community's rubber farms, but failed to give a just level of
compensation.
133.000
133.500
134.000
134.500
135.000
K A B . M A N O K WA R I
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
-1.500
-1.500
Existing Plantation
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
PT SUBUR
KARUNIA
RAYA
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
38620 ha
24000 ha
-2.000
-2.000
PT HCW
PAPUA
PLANTATION
KAB TELUK
WONDAMA
Lion Group
PT VARITA
MAJUTAMA
(II)
PT BERKAT
SETIAKAWAN
ABADI
8937 ha
Lion Group
-2.500
-2.500
35371 ha
2013*
KAB. TELUK
BINTUNI
PT VARITA
MAJUTAMA
(I)
17270 ha
1996
Kabupaten
PT MENARA
WASIOR
-3.000
-3.000
TELUK
BINTUNI,
32173 ha
K A B . FA K FA K
TELUK
WONDAMA
Scale 1:1,200,000
133.000
133.500
134.000
134.500
135.000
TELUK BINTUNI, TELUK WONDAMA:
West Papua's new industrial landscape: oil and gas below ground, palm oil
above ground
stage.
This means that Bintuni Bay, once a remote area covered with rainforest and
mangrove forest, is in the process of being converted into an industrial landscape.
Part of this will come from the industrial-scale cultivation of oil palm, because
nowadays, as well as drilling for oil and gas, oil can also be grown on trees.
PT Varita Majutama was the first company to move in - in 1996 permission was
given to develop three blocks of 6460, 5510 and 5300 hectares respectively. At that
time the company was owned by the Jayanti Group, that was already operating a
logging concession in the same area, under subsidiary PT Agoda Rimba Irian.
Ownership of the company was transferred several times, to PT Karya Teknik and
then PT Expedisi. Finally in 2012, 100% of the shares were bought by a Malaysian
company, The Lion Group27.
Since 1996 the company has been in conflict with the local community after it
obtained the signatures of seven supposed clan chiefs, who were convinced to sign
over rights to between 15,000 and 40,000 hectares of land (according to differing
accounts) for the paltry sum of 10 million Rupiah. Some of the men were elderly and
The low-lying Bintuni bay is the centre of oil and gas development in West Papua, could not see the documents or were illiterate, and there is also some doubt that
28
with BP, Genting Oil and Eni Oil all developing or exploring subterranean reserves. they were the actual customary land rights holders for the land in question.
BP's Tangguh natural gas project is huge, with two trains up and running and a
PT Varita Majutama showed a similar attitude in 2009, when it compensated 100
third being built. Together with the area around Sorong, Bintuni Bay has been
million Rupiah for rights to 3300 hectares of land, 30,000 Rupiah per hectare. It
designated as a key node in oil and gas development in Papua in the Governments also imposed the condition that the community would not be able to demand the
Masterplan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Development (MP3EI). This plan land back before their grandchildren's generation 29.
also promotes downstream processing based around these primary industries, and
several multinational and domestic companies have declared an interest. Ferrostaal The community around Tofoi has continued to demand adequate compensation for
their loss, including for timber, sacred sites that have been destroyed, animals that
from Germany and LG from Korea, together with local partners, both want to
have
fled the area and incidents of intimidation from the security forces against the
develop methanol plants, and the Indonesia state-owned fertilizer company PT
community. In 2007 and 2012 they have taken the initiative to blockade the
Pupuk Indonesia is also lining up to invest. 26 Much of the eastern part of Bintuni
plantation as the company continues to ignore their request 30.
Regency is also covered with coal mining concessions, all still at the exploration
PT Varita Majutama nevertheless continues to expand. In January 2013 another
35,371 hectares of land were released by the forestry ministry to be planted with oil
palm. The indigenous people around Tofoi also have to contend with two oil
companies operating on their land, Genting Oil from Malaysia and Eni Oil from
Italy, and those companies bring further problems, including an increased police
and military presence. For example in 2012, the Kamisopa and Sodefa clans
disputed the boundaries of land, until a fight broke out. Police brought criminal
accusations against one man, and then forced his brother to sign a document
handing over rights to their ancestral land to Genting Oil – threatening that if he
didn't, his younger brother would face five years in prison. 31
Another company, PT Subur Karunia Raya, is also planning an oil palm
plantation in the northern part of Bintuni Bay, extending over Mayado, Biscoop,
Aranday and Tembuni districts. Although this company obtained an in-principle
permit to release state forest lands for their plantation back in 2011, no recent news
confirms the progress to date.
News emerged recently that four landowning clans (Iba, Menci, Hornas and Irai)
had handed the rights to 24,000 hectares to an oil palm company PT HCW Papua
Plantation. That company has currently been unable to obtain the release of the
land they seek from the forestry ministry, but has the right to try again. We have
not been able to establish who owns PT HCW Papua Plantation. Staff at their
registered address in North Jakarta (the same address as PT Mega Mustika
Plantation and PT Cipta Papua Plantation which are trying to establish plantations
in Sorong) refused to give any information whatsoever about the company, and no
signboards gave any further clues.
In early March 2015, another prospective investor named PT Menara Wasior
announced its intention to develop 32,173 hectares of oil palm and a factory with a
capacity of 2x90 tons of fresh fruit bunches / hour, to be located in the Kuriwamesa
and Naikere districts, Wondama Bay regency. The company holds a location permit
from the regency head and an in-principle permit from the forestry ministry. The
Naikere sub-district head said that he had heard of the plan, but the company had
never presented its plans to the local people
Also in Teluk Wondama Regency, to the east of Bintuni Bay, a company named PT
Berkat Setiakawan Abadi was granted a forest release permit for 8937 hectares
of land in January 2014, but this company will plant rubber, not oil palm.
132.000
132.500
133.000
133.500
Salim Group*
PT RIMBUN
SAWIT
PAPUA
30596 ha
-3.000
-3.000
KAB. TELUK
BINTUNI
K A B . FA K FA K
-3.500
-3.500
KAB. KAIMANA
-4.000
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
-4.000
Existing Plantation
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
132.000
132.500
133.000
133.500
Kabupaten
FAKFAK
Scale 1:1,000,000
FAKFAK: Big business holds the reins of agricultural expansion
Merlin Office Complex on Jalan Gajah Madah, Jakarta. This is the same address as
several subsidiary companies of Salim Ivomas Pratama, which is owned by
Indofood Agri Resources, part of the Salim Group. The Director of PT Rimbun
Sawit Papua is Jef Setiawan Winata, a businessman from Bandung who has
operated several businesses in the Fakfak area for many years.
Although PT Rimbun Sawit Papua has not yet begun planting, there have already
been reports of police repression when local people have expressed their opposition
to oil palm. In February 2012, local media reported that ten people were arrested in
Fakfak city after intercepting a team from the agriculture ministry that were
coming to observe land for oil palm development in the Bomberay area. 32
Local activists fear that this oil palm plantation may be one part of a wider plan to
develop agribusiness across much of the regency. 33 In the Bomberay area near PT
Rimbun Sawit Papua's concession, the plan would be for an agricultural city
(agropolitan), and large-scale cattle farming. Other potential plans include large
corn and industrial forestry plantations. However, details of particular companies
that may be involved are yet to be confirmed.
In Kaimana Regency, which borders Fakfak, two companies applied for permission
to release land from the state forest estate in July 2013: PT Cipta Palm Sejati
(49000 ha) and PT Agro Mulya Lestari (50,500 ha). Their application was not
successful and it is not known whether these two companies are still pursuing their
investment plans. We have no further information about any companies which
might have managed to obtain permits to plant oil palm in Kaimana.
One company PT Rimbun Sawit Papua is planning an oil palm plantation in
Otoweri and Mbina Jaya villages in Bomberay District. This area is just across the
Regency border from the main industrial zone in Bintuni Bay Regency, and in the
same way is facing oil palm and gas development simultaneously, as it also lies
within the Kasuari block where Genting Oil is exploring for gas.
PT Rimbun Sawit Papua may be in a position to start clearing forest soon. In
January 2014 the Forestry Ministry approved the release of 25,286 hectares of state
forest. Additionally PT Rimbun Sawit Papua's location permit includes 7,581
hectares that are already classified as 'other use areas', in and around the
Bomberay transmigration clusters.
The company's address in its Environmental Impact Assessment is in the Duta
133.500
134.000
Medco
KAB.
TA M B R A U W
-0.500
133.000
-0.500
132.500
PT MEDCO
PAPUA HIJAU
SELARAS
-1.000
-1.000
18000 ha
2008
K A B . M A N O K WA R I
YONGJING
INVESTMENT
(ex-PTPN II)
-1.500
-1.500
17974 ha*
1982
Existing Plantation
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
Parent Company
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
Kabupaten
MANOKWARI,
TAMBRAUW
KAB. TELUK
BINTUNI
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
132.500
133.000
133.500
134.000
Scale 1:1,000,000
MANOKWARI, TAMBRAUW: When land management norms are
ignored, flooding and conflict can follow
PTPN II is currently coming to the end of its licence to operate, and the future of
the land remains uncertain. Some in the local government in Manokwari reportedly
came up with a plan to take it over as a local-government owned business (the local
government already operates a small amount of oil palm in the area), but this was
never realised. Instead PTPN II auctioned off 3000 hectares of oil palm which they
owned the cultivation rights for, as well as their factory, to a Chinese company, PT
Yong Jing Investment for 87.3 billion Rupiah. The auction was somewhat
irregular and improcedural. It was only announced ten days before it happened,
which meant that PT Yong Jing Investment, the sole bidder, was able to acquire the
assets for far below their market value of 114 billion Rupiah, as calculated by PT
Sucofindo. An agreement to sell the land and assets has surfaced, signed by the
director of PT Yong Jing investment and the director of PADOMA, a company owned
by the West Papua Provincial Government.34
The government and PTPN II never informed local residents about this sale and
transfer of assets. Transferring the cultivation rights without the knowledge of the
community violates important agreements. Local indigenous communities still have
customary rights over the plantation land and indeed in many cases have never
received fair compensation for the land, nor the promised social facilities which were
supposed to have been built. What's more, the period of tenure guaranteed by PTPN
II's cultivation rights has actually expired.
On the other hand transmigrant smallholders are also anxious because in many
cases their claim to the land is not secure. Many have never been issued a certificate
for their land, meaning they have no guarantees whatsoever. The root of the
problem lies with the government transmigration scheme itself, since the
government never resolved the land rights issue with the indigenous landowners.
The government just took indigenous land to be cultivated by transmigrants, never
arranged a dialogue to resolve the issue, and never gave compensation. This has
often become the trigger for tension between transmigrant and indigenous
communities, and between the community as a whole and the government and
company.35
Manokwari Regency is mostly mountainous and unsuitable for oil palm, but at the
base of the mountains one long plain runs from near Manokwari city westwards for
about 100km, meeting the coast along its way. It is here that the two operational oil
palm plantations are located. State-owned PTPN II was the first company to plant
oil palm in Papua, moving into Manokwari in 1980. Planting oil palm in this area
was intended to facilitate the migration of farmers from other parts of Indonesia
such as Java and West Timor. Because of this, a large part of the plantation is a
smallholder program, where mostly transmigrant families, as well as a few
Papuans, were each allocated two hectares of oil palm, selling their produce to the
company.
Medco was the second company to start a plantation in 2008, adjacent to PTPN II's
plantation in Sidey and Masni districts, and the plantation is operated by its
violating flood protection regulations which require a buffer zone to be
subsidiary company PT Medcopapua Hijau Selaras. Medco started planting on maintained.37
land which wasn't classified as state forest, including land taken over from PTPN II, The new Tambrauw Regency was split off from Manokwari and Sorong in 2008.
and then the forestry ministry also released an additional 6791 hectares of state
Currently there are not believed to be any oil palm companies active in the area.
forest land in 2012. The company is reportedly still trying to expand.
Previously, a company called PT Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa had obtained an inMedco bought land from the village chiefs who own the customary land rights at a
flat rate of 450,000 rupiah per hectare for a 30 year lease. While this amount may
be higher than other plantation companies in Papua have given, it is nevertheless a
tiny fraction of the economic benefits that the forest could provide to the community
over that time. In November 2012 media reported that local indigenous people
closed down Medco's office, bringing the company to a standstill. They were
objecting that the company had not fulfilled its promises to provide opportunities to
local Papuans36.
principle permit for almost 40,000 hectares in Abun and Kebar districts. PT Papua
Sawita Raya (Rajawali) also had a location permit from the previous Sorong
administration in Moraid. Both are now thought to be inactive, and in both cases
the districts they are located in have been the subject of dispute between rival local
governments wanting to claim control. It is hard to avoid theconclusion that these
disputes are due to the different administrations wishing to benefit from any
resource industries which might be located in the area, potentially including oil
palm.
In the case of Moraid, the Sorong Regency has maintained its claim over the
territory, including losing an appeal in the Constitutional Court, and a new law in
2013 clarified that Moraid District was indeed part of Tambrauw. 38 Different
villages supported different regencies and there were fears that violence might
break out around the tie of the 2014 legislative elections. Indeed, violent incidents
did occur, at one point the district chief was beaten up. 39 On the Manokwari side, a
plan was hatched to divide Tambrauw Regency once more, with Kebar District
entering a new West Manokwari Regency.
Since Medco started planting, residents in the area of Sungai Wariori have been
complaining of increasingly frequent flooding. Then in March 2014, a huge flood
swept through the area, severely damaging scores of houses and causing hundreds
of people to be evacuated. Material losses were estimated to have reached billions
of Rupiah. Medco had planted oil palm right up to the boundaries of the river,
140.000
140.500
141.000
PT PN II
PT PALOWAY
ABADI
4885 ha
Rajawali
PT TANDAN
SAWITA
PAPUA
18337 ha
2010
KAB. KEEROM
Patria Group
-3.500
PT SEMARAK
AGRO
LESTARI
PT BIO
BUDIDAYA
NABATI
K A B . J AYA P U R A
Existing Plantation
Planned Plantation
RGE Group
PT RIMBA
MATOA
LESTARI
29589 ha
2013
7400 ha
Parent Company
Plantation Name
Concession Area
Year Work Started
Known Boundary
The exact location of plantations shown in
rectangular boxes is still unknown, their position
Approximate Boundary on the map is a best guess based on available
information
* An asterisk indicates unconfirmed information (refer to accompanying text).
140.000
140.500
141.000
-3.000
PT Victory
PT VICTORY
CEMERLANG
INDONESIA
-3.500
PA P U A N E W G U I N E A
-3.000
17974 ha
1982
Kabupaten
KEEROM
Scale 1:700,000
KEEROM:
Indigenous people squeezed out as transmigration policy
secures the border
bitter for Keerom's indigenous population than PTPN II was previously. First of all,
the money given in exchange for ancestral land was only an average of 384,000
Rupiah per hectare,44 after negotiations only with the kereth (clan) leaders and
other male community leaders. 45 Then after four years of operation, it appears that
the company has not kept its promises to develop health and education facilities. 46
Working conditions and pay have also been a concern for PT Tandan Sawita Papua's
Large amounts of the indigenous people's land was taken for this, with local people
employees47. After demonstrations about the reduction in pay, two employees were
having no choice to object for fear of being labelled as separatist OPM fighters - the
summoned to the police station in April 2014, after which they were held in custody
conflict between the Papuan guerrillas and the Indonesian state was rather hot at
for two weeks. On their release they were made to sign statements accepting their
the time40. PTPN II was no stranger to using these tactics of fear which had become
dismissal from the company and saying that they would make no further demands. 48
legitimate throughout the Suharto dictatorship – previously in the 1970s it had
acquired most of it's land near its home base in North Sumatra by using the
military to seize farmers' land, threatening them with being treated as communists.
Keerom Regency lies along the border with Papua New Guinea, in the hinterland of
Jayapura city. In the early 1980s plans were made to develop the Arso area for
transmigration. As in Manokwari, a key element of this was an oil palm plantation
operated by state owned company PTPN-II. Much of the oil palm land would be
farmed by the new migrants - a scheme known as PIR.
PTPN II in Keerom was never successful economically, the transmigrant farmers
who participated in the PIR scheme struggled to make a living, and the indigenous
Papuans even more so41. However, the plantation did serve its purpose as a pioneer
as Arso became a thriving agricultural area. However the overwhelming majority of
the population are newcomers to the area, and indigenous Papuans are severely
economically marginalised42.
In 2007 PTPN II estimated that its factory processed fruit from 8339 hectares of
land. This includes 1068 hectares which is currently farmed by PT Bumi Irian
Perkasa, a local company which also takes on construction contracts such as the
Jayapura-Sentani road widening project.
In 2010 PT Tandan Sawita Papua became the second plantation company to clear
the forests of Keerom, obtaining a 26,300 hectare location permit, which later
became a plantation permit for 18,337 hectares of oil palm, . This company is
operated by the Green Eagle Group, which until recently was a joint venture
between the Rajawali corporation and the French multinational Louis Dreyfus
Papuans who relied on the forest for food were increasing squeezed out by these two
Commodities. Louis Dreyfus pulled out in July 2014. The Green Eagle Group was
companies and the growth of the transmigration zone. They have had to defend the
then bought by publicly-listed BW Plantations, but Rajawali has maintained its
remaining pieces of forest. One such area is known as golden triangle between Arso
overall control as it also bought a majority share in BW Plantations. 43
Kota, Workwama and Wambes. Previously local people have resorted to burning
Many reports indicate that the experience with this new company has been no less
logging camps to try to save the forest 49. Now a company that has operated a timber
business in the area for several years, PT Victory Cemerlang Indonesia Wood
Industries, has obtained a permit for a 4885 hectare oil palm plantation. There is
strong local opposition.50
PT Paloway Abadi has had a permit in the area for some time, probably in Skanto
District, and may even have started planting. However, it was not possible to find
further information about its operations.
While Arso becomes more developed, further inland in Keerom is still isolated and
forested, mostly still primary forest. However, there are plans to extend the
transmigration zone to this area. A 2009 government policy for 'Integrated
Independent Cities' was a strategic plan to consolidate Indonesia's presence along
its land borders. One of these was designated in Senggi dis